archive

December 27, 2012 Services like Pandora and Spotify have been trying to win over two types of customers: younger people who don't buy music at all and older people who still like physical albums. But it's been difficult to lure customers willing to pay for music they won't own or that they can find for free online.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 26, 2012 Plenty of apps promise to make life easier for people with life-threatening allergies to nuts and other foods. One scientist even invented a smartphone-based lab to detect potential allergens. But asking "Does that have nuts in it?" may actually be a better and safer option than pulling out your phone.

Summary

December 26, 2012 KQEDThose of us trying to get in shape after overindulging this holiday season can get help from a slew of new devices that monitor steps climbed, calories burned and heart rate. But companies and venture capitalists in new startups hope to make money in a new way: by selling the data right back to the people tracking their activity — and to their employers.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 26, 2012 This year has seen an explosion of professional online videos, eclipsing home videos of cats and babies. In 2012, 8 of the top 10 YouTube videos were professional — and Hulu, Netflix and multichannel networks like MiTu all produced exclusive new programming.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 24, 2012 NORAD's online Santa Tracker is powered by Microsoft. This year, Google launched its own. And Santa's precise whereabouts are hard to pin down.

Summary

December 24, 2012 Say the words "high-tech startup" and chances are you picture a world that's mostly white, male and set in Silicon Valley. Now, a group in Nairobi, Kenya, is working to get more female entrepreneurs into the male-dominated world of tech.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

December 23, 2012 With the rise of the do-it-yourself movement, more groups are springing up to encourage kids to link crafts and science. Modeled on more traditional Scouting groups, kids and their parents meet up in tool-filled "hacker spaces" to build electronics and get creative.

Transcript

On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

December 22, 2012 Your email box is always full. You're never fully present with your family. And even when you know you should be taking a break, you feel the vibrating phone in your pocket. Ironically, the instinct is to use technology to deal with these problems. But the solution can be as simple as you let it be.

Summary

December 20, 2012 "Big Data" had just as much to do with President Obama's victory as phrases like "Etch A Sketch" and "47 percent," says linguist Geoff Nunberg. Big Data is also behind anxieties about intrusions on our privacy, whether from the government's anti-terrorist data sweeps or the ads that track us on the Web.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

December 20, 2012 Passengers can currently use devices such as Kindles, iPads and Nooks while in flight, but not during takeoffs and landings. The FAA says it is studying the matter, but the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a U.S. senator say it's time to act.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 18, 2012 The wildly popular photo-sharing site Instagram nearly caused a user revolt when it revamped its terms of service and privacy policy to suggest it could allow uploaded photos to be used in ads without users' permission. Instagram later clarified its position in an effort to quell concerns.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

December 17, 2012 A nonprofit called The Seasteading Institute is advancing a hugely ambitious scheme: constructing floating structures that will house hundreds of people in international waters, out of the jurisdiction of any nation. Now, the organization has attracted its first big name donor.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist